Pharmacy highlights wage gap with man tax

Thompson Chemists in Soho, New York City, reminded customers of gender price and wage disparity by charging a seven percent man tax.

Some customers saw the humor and others were outraged. Either way, owner Jolie Alony made her point. Women typically pay seven percent more for products that are similar to those marketed to men. And the wage gap between men and women persists. So for an indefinite period of time, female customers in her store, Thompson Chemists, in Soho, New York City, will shop tax free. Men will be charged what she calls a seven percent man tax.

While provocative, the signs in the shop window are law abiding. Alony is charging men the usual price while offering female customers a seven percent discount. New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs has said that price discrimination on goods is legal; pricing services differently is not.

Another retail outlet that is similarly helping to make customers aware of ongoing gender inequality is the Romanian bakery producing edible pie charts showing, among other disparities, the salary gap and the startup exclusion percentage. For diners, a new app allows the bill to be split according to gender and race. How else could technology be used to redress the gender imbalance found in a variety of areas of life?